Wichita eagle., 1887-08-21
WICHITANS IN THE ROCKIES.
Mosquitoes and Hard Fare, Bedbugs ant
Dyspepsia.

Two or three hundred, all told, of o,
Wichita people sought refuge from Il
heat of the summer at the various resor
sea ttered about the eastern slopes of Il
Rocky mountains Not few went
Denver, Boulder and Georgetown, great.
number to Colorado Springs, Manitou an
D to Wagon Wheel Gap, Twin Lakes, et'
Many Of these are now arriving home an
the tales they have to recite of pests an
privations, Of alternate heat and cold, an
of unvarying high prices, are both anus
ing and instructive. Other than the benz
fits to be derived from change of food
water and climate, 1t is difficult matte
for many to learn that for solid comfor
"there is no place like home" whereve
that home may be located. or howeve
humble it may be. The editor of tn
EAGLE and hts family are among the re
turned wanderers. The experience of hi
group was exactly that of all those wht
hung upon the confines of civilization
or Inquired In the shadow of hotels ane
boarding houses-the same painful effor
of convincing ourself of a novelty ane
pleasure, which, like the trout fishing and
low ranging thermometer only existed In
the inauguration. Shaking the dust
therefore, of Manitou, Cannon City and
Leadville from their clothes his party took
the Denver and Rio Grande for Red Cliff
and Gilman, located on the head of Eagle
river, beyond the continental divide. Once
there an order was secured-no matter
Notwithstanding himself, wife, daughter
and babies, fifty miles further westward
on construction train. From the end OF
that track kind hearted, hospitable ranch
man transferred us to his home few miles
distant up In the valley of canon. There
we learned Of an old friend but a few
miles away who, when found, also boosted
of other friends who owned ranch and a
multitude of bronchos. 1t was but the
result Of days figuring to con-
clude on packing and saddling
a half dozen of these animals
and on striking out for Businesses, yet
untouched by civilization, retreats unmar-
red by the instruments and implements of
vulgar money getting. A day and half
of such travel through dark, sbadowy
gorges and around and over frowning and
frightful declivities found us in little
vale protected by mountain of pine forest
upon one side and perpendicular sleeps
upon the other. Through this little bit of
uncultivated nature ran, or rather rushed
headlong, noisy stream of crystal clear
ness and as cold as ice. About us scamp
cred bands of majestic elk, while the
snoozing of our camp-g guard, consisting of
three large dogs, around the rudy camp
fire, were ever being disturbed by unex-
pected shifts of "bar," "Injun" or chip
monk, none of us caring to enquire which.
From this wild, lonely and almost mac
cessable retreat the three gentlemen &C.
comp anyiDg our family party, pointed out
the mountains of Wyoming but the width
OF one county to the north away, and those
of Utah but little farther away to the
west, while in the intermediate ground Law
the valley rendered historical by the mas
sacre of the Meeker family. The late
Indian row didn't, luckily, happen to
occur till the day after our departure, for
which we hope We are duly thankful. But
the truth of the matter Is we thought as
little Of the Indian as we did of his enemy,
the civilized white man. BY night we all
slept soundly with nothing but thick wooden
blankets between us and the stars, and the
only sound, that of TIE monotonous purl-
ing and splashing of the mountain stream
upon one side and the alternate sad muir
murs and deep signs of the great pines as
their boughs were ever and anon disturbed
by the cool, bracing breezes which swept
down from the snow fields high above us
upon the other. During the brilliant days
the children hunted flowers-orchids, blue
bells, Indian pinks, daisies, etc, etc.-and
berries, which grow in profusion and
abundance in every sunlit exposure, while
the rest of us tossed our flies into whirling
pools and roaring currents for trout. And,
oh! such magnificent, golden bellied, pink
gilled spotted beauties. The combined
catch for the first half day, of three of us
our daughter, Ka,e, counting one-num-
bered ninety-one, pulling the balances
down twice and half, or weighing
upwards of fifty six pounds. There were
no minnows or small fry there. The
second day In four hours siege the
writer took In, alone, thirty, six, weighing
twenty-four and half pounds, a number
OF them being eighteen to twenty three
inches long and weighing from one and
three quarter to two and quarter pounds
This was our biggest catch In weight but
not in number. To describe all of our DAVIS
among those eternal Businesses, and the
many funny as well as serious Incidents
and then our final regretful adieu, not only
to our new found friends and to those
grand old ranges, the latter no larger nor
or ander than was the disinterested, consid-
crate and generous actions and hospitality
of the former, to say nothing of our part
ing looks and longiugs after those frying
pans and spiders but just emptied of their
sweet white-and-pink, though solid con-
tents on which We had Toasted for days,